Rick Scott proposes capping health insurance benefits for employees, making some employees pay more

Gov. Rick Scott came into office promising big changes for the state workforce.

He said he would cut 5 percent of the jobs currently on the state payroll. He said he would make employees, for the first time, contribute toward their own retirement. And he promised to alter health care plans for state employees to be more "in line" with the U.S. average.

As part of the budget, which Scott released on Feb. 7, 2011,  he proposed to change the health insurance plans for state workers. The proposals must still be approved by the state Legislature, but Scott's plans include two major changes to how employees receive health insurance.

They are:

1). Making worker contributions equal for state employees. Currently, state Select Exempt Service (SES) and Senior Management Service (SMS) employees -- which includes legislative staff and lawmakers -- contribute far less to their health insurance than Career Service (CS) employees. SES and SMS workers, who account for about 20,000 people in the nearly 109,000 people in the State Personnel System, contribute $8.34 monthly for individual coverage; or $30 a month for family coverage. CS workers contribute $50 a month for an individual PPO or HMO plan, or $180 a month for family coverage. Scott proposed to increase the required premium contribution for state executive employees.

2). Capping the amount of health insurance coverage for a state employee at $5,000 per plan participant annually. That's the top end of what the state would cover, regardless of if you're an individual or if you have a family insurance plan. Currently, the cap varies depending on the participant and plan, but is between $6,000 and $15,000 per employee, state officials say.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average annual premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance in 2010 are $5,049 for single coverage and $13,770 for family coverage. The average annual worker contributions are $899 for single coverage and $3,997 for family coverage, Kaiser reported as part of its annual survey. (That's about $75 a month for individuals and $330 a month for family coverage, more than state workers pay now.) Kaiser also reported that only 12 percent of covered workers are in plans with an annual limit on benefits for single coverage.

The changes would take affect starting July 1, 2011, if the Legislature goes along.

Ultimately, the Scott-O-Meter will have to decide whether the health care changes the governor pushes through the Legislature put government employees "in line" with the national average. But now that the conversation is started, we can move this promise to In the Works.